Ottawa daylight shootings 'reckless' and 'brazen' acts, say police
Two shootings in broad daylight occurred on the 5th and July 6 in Ottawa. According to the police, there is no connection between these two incidents (archives).
The Ottawa Police Service (OPS) denounces the “reckless” and “brazen” acts of violence following two shootings that occurred in broad daylight earlier this week.
In the early afternoon of July 5, a 24-year-old man, Abdulhamid Haji Ragab, was shot and wounded in the Banff-Ledbury neighborhood of south Ottawa. He died in the shooting later at the hospital, leaving his family devastated, according to Superintendent Jamie Dunlop, who oversees criminal investigations at the OPS.
About 24 hours later, on Wednesday July 6, a 26-year-old man was shot and killed in a broad daylight shooting on Ritchie Street in the Britannia area. He remains in hospital in critical condition, according to the latest update provided by the police.
A shooting took place outside the block of 100 Ritchie Street on Wednesday (on file).
The OPS Guns and Gangs Unit found no connection between the two shootings, reads an update released Thursday.
No suspects are currently being held in connection with these incidents and police are appealing for witnesses who may have information.
Superintendent Jamie Dunlop says investigators from the Homicide Unit and the Guns and Gangs Unit have investigative leads that they are actively pursuing and that asking for more witnesses is very common.
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Also, the fact that these shootings took place while children were playing nearby is concerning, according to Mr. Dunlop.
Jamie Dunlop, Superintendent at the Ottawa Police Service
There is no doubt that these are reckless acts and shameless acts, he says, referring to the two shootings this week and an incident on an early afternoon in the May, when people in two moving vehicles engaged in a shootout on Highway 417.
In an urban environment, in particular, we are very concerned to see where those bullets might end up, Mr. Dunlop continues.
The superintendent is unable to immediately confirm the types of firearms involved in the shootings this week, but does point out that illegal handguns are quite common in such incidents.
Last year, the OPS investigated a record 82 shooting incidents, including accidental discharges.
So far in 2022, the OPS has investigated 29 shooting incidents, including the two reported this week, compared to 42 at this time of year in 2021.
Superintendent Dunlop hopes [the number of shootings] will continue to decrease.
The 26-year-old man injured in the July 6 shooting was found near the entrance to a parking lot in a neighborhood where the offices of the Britannia Woods Community House, which provides support to children and families in the area, are located.
The organization published a series of tweets on its Twitter account on Thursday, in particular wishing a speedy recovery to the man and his family.
The shootings can raise a lot of feelings emotions and traumas for many of us. This is not typical in our community, and it is not something easy to manage, can we read there.
< p>“Unfortunately, there are pervasive issues stemming from systemic racism and inequality, faced by many neighborhoods in our city, that lead to violence.
— Britannia Woods Community House Twitter account
It is the duty of every decision maker in our city to take each of these incidents seriously and address with the utmost care of these deeply rooted issues, continues the series of tweets.
With information from Guy Quenneville, CBC
